


Falling Out of the Sky

by curtainremote



Category: His Dark Materials (TV)
Genre: Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:14:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27911350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curtainremote/pseuds/curtainremote
Summary: Falling out of a certain aeronaut's balloon leaves Lyra in rough shape. Featuring Lee Scoresby acting like a panicked dad.
Relationships: Lyra Belacqua & Lee Scoresby
Comments: 5
Kudos: 66





	Falling Out of the Sky

Lyra’s breath was sucked from her lips. She looked to the side for Pan. She finds him in ferret form.

“Pan,” Lyra said, finally catching her breath.

“Lyra!” Pan replied, scampering over, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Lyra sat up slowly, getting her bearings before standing up. She looked around at the snowy ledges surrounding them.

“What should we do, Lyra?” Pan asked.

“Start walking,” Lyra sighed, “I imagine Lee made a crash landing somewhere around here.”

\------

Lee climbed out of his downed balloon onto a snowbank.

“You alright, Hester?” Lee asked.

“Fine,” Hester replied, “We gotta find her, Lee,”

He nodded, nervously adjusting his hat.

“LYRA?” He yelled, “LYRA?!” After hearing no response, he began to journey on foot in the direction they’d flown from. “Come on, Hester, let’s go get our girl.”

\------

Lyra and Pan continued through the snow.

“LEE?!” Lyra called out, “Lee?!” She felt incredibly winded and they had barely made it more than fifty meters from where they started.

Pan felt a flicker of uncertainty within him. “Lyra, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Lyra replied, “Got the wind knocked out of me, I suppose.” She called Lee’s name again, causing a sharp pain in her side.

“Ow, what was that?” Pan said, recoiling on Lyra’s behalf.

“Falling out of the sky is bound to leave a mark, Pan,” Lyra replied sarcastically, “I think I bruised my side.” She opened her coat and pulled her shirt up a bit, examining the area. There was a bruise already spreading across her skin. Pan looked on, hissing as she saw the dark blotch on her ribcage.

She gingerly knelt down and scooped a few handfuls of snow, carefully packing it over the area. She tightly tied off her shirt to keep it in place before closing her jacket. Then they heard it:

“Lyra?!”

It was distant, but it was Lee. Lee’s voice.

“Lee!” Lyra called, taking off in the direction of the sound.

“Lyra!” Lee called back, sounding closer.

Lyra turned a corner in the rocky valley and saw Lee running in her direction. She darted forward and met him halfway.

“Lyra, thank god,” Lee said, “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Lyra nodded eagerly. Pan ran a circle around Hester as they greeted each other as well. “Are _you_ okay?”

“Yes, yes,” Lee smiled, “Even better now that I finally found ya. My balloon’s in a snowbank back over there, but let’s see if we can’t fix ‘er up.”

Lyra followed after him. Once the excitement of reuniting with Lee had passed, the pain in Lyra’s side returned. She started to take smaller, slower breaths to avoid the stabbing pain that ebbed and flowed with her breathing.

Pan scurried up Lyra’s back to perch on her shoulder.

“Lyra, you’re hurt,” Pan said quietly.

“I’m aware,” Lyra replied, a bit bitter.

“Something’s wrong,” Pan added with concern, “You should tell Lee.”

“No, it’s fine, I’m fine,” Lyra whispered back.

Lee noticed the hushed exchange occurring between Lyra and her daemon but didn’t bother trying to eavesdrop on the apparently private conversation. He continued to chat with Hester about the cliff ghasts.

Lyra couldn’t keep up with Lee’s pace for much longer. She felt herself leaning forward slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position to breathe. She started periodically holding her breath to keep from provoking the horrible stabbing sensation in her side. Her head became fuzzy.

Pan was still sat on her shoulder, now as a mouse. Discomfort was starting to become apparent in him as well.

“Lyra, please,” Pan nearly begged, “You need to tell Lee.”

“I—” Lyra tried to reply but was cut off by the pain slicing through her. There was a minute stutter in her step as she inhaled sharply, making Lee glance over at her.

He immediately noticed her abnormal posture and the look of discomfort being wiped from her face. He stopped suddenly.

“Lyra, you alright?” He asked curiously as he approached her.

The bright white snow seemed to burn purple in her eyes. The combination of the swirling in her head and the pain in her side was too overwhelming. She couldn’t hide it anymore.

“I feel—” Lyra said in an unusually small voice. She felt a rush of heat through her body and had to make an uncoordinated step to keep herself from falling over.

“Whoa!” Lee reached out with wide eyes to steady her, firmly gripping her shoulders, “Lyra, what’s wrong?”

Lyra whimpered in response, weakly grabbing onto his sleeve with one hand and supporting her injured side with the other. She tried to fold forward more but her knees buckled.

“Lyra!” Lee caught her under her arms as her legs went slack, leaving Lee to take on her bodyweight. “Okay, okay,” Lee strained as he guided her onto her knees. Lyra's only response is a sharp whimper, breaking his heart. He saw an unfocused look in her eyes that only increased his concern and realized she wouldn’t be stable enough to sit upright.

“Lay down, darlin’,” Lee directed softly, “I got ya.” He helped her onto her uninjured side.

Pan weakly slid from her shoulder onto the snow and Hester quickly gathered the mouse, nudging him into the fur of her side.

“I—,” Lyra tried to reach towards Lee but didn’t make it far before crying out in pain.

“Shh, easy,” Lee smoothed back some of her hair into her hood, “I’m right here.”

“Hurts t-to breathe,” Lyra whimpered.

“Alright, you’re alright, kid,” Lee assured, “Did you hurt your ribs?”

Lyra nodded, biting down hard on her bottom lip.

“Okay,” Lee soothed, “Let me see.” He gently peeled her hand away from the area she was guarding. He moved her coat and shirt away, just a bit to preserve her modesty, and revealed her snow-packed ribs. Lee shouldn’t have been surprised by just how resourceful this scrappy little girl was.

He brushed some of the snow aside as gingerly as possible. Despite his best efforts, his touch still produced a bright flash of pain and Lyra tried to suppress the involuntary jolt of her body. Lee quietly hushed her. Even though her skin was red from the cold, wet snow, the dark bruising was clear underneath. He carefully replaced the improvised snow-icepack.

“Looks like you broke a few ribs,” Lee reported apologetically.

“Sounds about right,” Lyra grimaced.

“Jesus kid, why didn’t you say something?” Lee asked.

“I thought I was fine,” She murmured.

“You most definitely were _not_ fine,” Pan interjects vehemently from his spot curled up against Hester.

“Thank you, Pan,” Lyra replied sarcastically, wincing a little.

Lee now knows what the pair had been bickering about earlier, he supposes.

“I know it hurts but ya gotta keep taking deep breaths or pneumonia can set in,” Lee explained, “Helps with the dizziness too.”

“Okay,” Lyra nodded, doing her best to comply.

Lee looked up, scanning their surroundings. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do next. Lyra was too injured to walk, perhaps even to move at all, but he couldn’t leave her either.

A small whooshing noise followed by a dull thud beside them caught their attention.

“Serafina.”

Lyra regarded her with wonder in her eyes. She thought that maybe she was losing her mind due to oxygen deprivation. The strange woman had an air of mystery and darkness about her, contrasted by her striking beauty and warmth.

“Mr. Scoresby, Lyra,” Serafina greeted, carefully joining them.

“You’re a witch,” Lyra said breathlessly.

“And a queen,” Lee added with a smirk.

“Indeed I am,” Serafina smiled gently, “And it seems like I could be of service to you, Lyra Silvertongue. May I?” Serafina hovered her hands near Lyra’s injured side.

Lyra simply nodded, unsure of what to expect. Lee had clearly made her acquaintance before and seemed to trust her, so Lyra followed his lead.

A warm light began to glow beneath Serafina’s palms. Lyra and Lee both watched intently, speechless. Lyra felt the pain growing and she couldn’t help but squirm and cry out, but it quickly faded away. It left her gasping, finally able to take a full breath without any soreness.

Lyra looked to Lee and back to Serafina.

“Thanks?” Lyra said, completely in shock as she sat up.

“Be safe, Lyra Silvertongue,” Serafina instructed, “And Lee, remember what I told you.”

And then she was gone.

They both paused for a moment before Lee reanimated.

“Are you alright?” He asked as he quickly attended to Lyra.

“Well, I am now, yeah,” Lyra replied with confusion, stretching experimentally a bit, finding absolutely no pain. “Who was that?!” She asked Lee brashly.

“Serafina.”

**AN: Yay, I hope enjoyed the read :) Leave a comment and tell me your favorite line/moment if you want!**


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